Burning Wax Roses
by ChaseTheMorning
Summary: When the portal between dimensions opened, Buffy Summers died. But something else was left in her place. Something had been dropped out of the portals and left there. Harry Potter didn't know where he was, why he was there or how he had gotten there.
1. Chapter 1

When the portal between dimensions opened, Buffy Summers died. But something else was left in her place. Something had been dropped out of the portals and left there. Harry Potter didn't know where he was, why he was there or how he had gotten there. All he knew was that he wasn't quite sure that he wanted to go home.

There is no pairing chosen definitely for this story. I just came up with this as I was watching the end of Season Five and finished crying my eyes out when Buffy died. Yeah, man that totally sucked. But I know some of what happens later and I'm watching Season Six as we speak. So yea, some AU stuff will happen. I won't stick with stuff entirely...and I'm rambling.

**Chosen pairings**: Xander/Anya, Willow/Tara, Harry/?, Buffy/?

Only way to choose is for you guys to vote. So come on and give it a whirl, and enjoy that which I do not own. Bow to the neverending glory that is Joss Whedon and J.K. Rowling. And beware the bunnies.

**Warning: Very dark chapter, but it will get better later on. **

**Burning Wax Roses, A Harry Potter and Buffy Summers Story**

**Prologue: The End is the Beginning...a neverending cycle.**

"Avada Kedavra!"

Those words...two simple words. Six syllables. Caused so much death. How could two little words spoken by someone mean so much?

Death...suffering...despair....loss.

A never-ending whirlwind of hatred and sadness.

But two voices spoke those words. Two screams filled the blood-tainted air, lit with the electricity of magic and the hatred that ran deep between the two sides of war.

There was no Light or Dark. There was no Good or Evil, as Harry Potter now understood. There was life, and there was death. There were those who wished pain on others and those who received the pain. Black and white. Black and white, never grey.

Harry Potter had been living a hell since he was born. His parents stolen at age one, to the point where he couldn't remember their faces or hear their voice even if he tried. Sent to live with people who hated him and treated him like a slave instead of their own flesh and blood, tormented by schoolmates for his 'wierdness'. Sent to a school where he was far more lost than he'd ever been in his life and given friends for the first time. Friends he cherished more than life itself. Friends he would probably lose...

Professor Quirrell.

Voldemort.

Ginny.

The diary, the basilisk and Tom.

Sirius.

Peter Pettigrew.

Cedric Diggory.

Voldemort-alive.

Sirius kidnapped.

Sirius dead.

Stupid Harry.

Snape.

Dumbledore's dead.

Malfoy...stupid Malfoy.

Voldemort.

Bill and Fleur's wedding...

A happy moment....

Running, hell.

Hermione and Ron.

Ron leaving.

Hell breaking loose....

The Horcruxes...the school...

A portkey. All alone.

Harry Potter was all alone.

And dying...

Harry Potter forced himself to stay standing, staring at the pale, ghastly skin that was Lord Voldemort, the half-blood Tom Marvolo Riddle. It didn't look human. It looked...like dust. Flying away on the wind.

Had he done it?

Harry stared down at his bloodied hands, seeing the dust flying into the air, carried away like feathers on the winds' back. He'd done it.

His life had flashed before his eyes, like everyone said it was supposed to. But he wasn't dead.

Harry suddenly felt his eyes and head clear, hearing the sound of water brushing against the shore of the beach he stood on, the light of the dawn starting to show over the horizon.

Where was he? How had he gotten here?

Green eyes caught sight of a small medallion and the memories flashed back. The medallion on the table at Hogwarts. Voldemort had had someone plant it there for Harry to find. It was a portkey. The portkey had transported Harry to....wherever the hell he was now. So they would be alone. No one to help Harry, no one to save him. No one to see him there when he died, crumbling and weak and begging for death. But that hadn't happened....

Hands reached up to grip the sides of his head, trying to get the thoughts to stop. He felt like he was going insane...if he could only reach the medallion, he could go home. Everything would be fine. He'd be safe.

Harry slowly began to crawl over the silken sand underneath his hands and knees, not trusting his feet at the moment. But when he gripped the medallion, that cold piece of silver glinting there in the sand, he felt something cold wash over him as a sudden burst of light split from the sun and swallowed him whole, flinging him into a hard surface where he collapsed onto the grass below it, feeling the cold and dew-dropped grass against the side of his face.

"What the bloody..." He murmured, slowly pushing himself so that he could sit on his rear on the grass, staring up at the cloudless sky overhead, the blue slowly bleeding to purple and red closer to the horizon. The sun was rising. He blinked, staring at what he'd hit. Of course now there was a Harry-shaped dent in it...

But why was he currently in front of a blue sign that read "Welcome to Sunnydale"?

Oh bugger....

**Okay guys, there goes the start of it. **

**Don't worry, the plot bunny bit me pretty hard on me arse on this one so the next chapter will be up in quick succession...considering anyone even wants it. Well I'll write it anyway, but please leave a review to tell me if you liked it or not. It really helps out. **

**I had hoped that this way of Harry getting dropped in the Buffy dimension would be a bit different from what I've seen so far. So Harry won't be related to anyone here, I'm afraid. I'll try to keep things realistic. Well, cheerio! **


	2. Chapter 2 Sunnydale Life, Magic

Okay guys! And here is the First Chapter!

Enjoy!

Chapter One: Where Do I Go From Here? (Prototype)

Harry Potter had been in Sunnydale long enough to know that for some reason the police officers seemed to turn their eyes away from everything. In what Harry perceived as 'normal', someone would have asked him for some sort of identification or something but nothing of the sort had happened.

Harry spent his first few days in Sunnydale trying to find a way back home, wondering if there even was a way back home, and trying to first find out what had brought him here. He could already feel the beginnings of a headache.

Harry sighed, wandering up the stairs to the cheap apartment building he was staying in on what he was sure was the 'bad' side of town. The first thing he'd had to do when he came here was find a place to work but no such luck so far. Right now he was living off the money he'd earned in a pawn shop when he'd sold the wizarding money in his pockets. Apparently the gold, silver and bronze had gotten him a good bit of muggle American money but he wasn't one for waste.

Things were definitely wierd in Sunnydale, CA. The Dursleys would have been having epileptic fits. This caused Harry no end to laughter. Everyone seemed constantly oblivious of anything strange going on. Not that he was complaining, it would actually be a good thing if he could use his wand. But he'd noticed a lot of people dressed wierd...almost wierder than Muggle-wanna-be Wizards. Yeah, it made him shudder to think about too. He just shrugged it off to American oddness.

He remembered his first night here, the sights and sounds and screams that had suddenly all disappeared like they had never happened. The ground wasn't split open to emit screaming hell demons from the bottoms of the Earth and the buildings hadn't been turned into dragon nests.

He'd felt a strange wave of light overtake him and then it was gone. But he was still there, where everything else had disappeared. All he had was the bag he'd always carried on his back since he'd turned seventeen. The knapsack given to him by Hermione that carried everything he owned.

Unfortunately during the battle with Voldemort his wand had broken, so he was only able to do what little wandless magic he had trained himself to do. He was trying to teach himself more, but the powers of this new place seemed to get in the way.

Harry dropped his groceries on the small, scrubbed wooden table he'd managed to get at Sunnydale Thrift Mart, along with his overstuffed mismatched couch and lounge chair, lamp and an alarm clock with a futon lying on the floor near the back of the studio apartment. Thankfully the previous owner had left a hotplate on the mini-kitchen counter and he had managed to find an ancient-looking toaster in the bathroom cupboard. He didn't even want to think of why that was there. But hey, beggars couldn't be choosers.

He looked around with large green eyes, taking in his living quarters and deciding he could have done far worse. It was his, at least. His landlord, an elderly lady who had the kindest face he'd ever seen but the eyes seriously reminded him of McGonnagol, didn't mind him coming and going as he pleased, as he had paid for a few months rent in advance. She had even given him a plate of brownies when he'd first moved in, even though he hadn't touched them after he'd heard what had happened to the last tenant to eat her brownies from the lady next door, Mrs. McGyver.

The walls, he was hoping he could paint over from the current off-shade eggshell they were now. Maybe something warmer....

After quite a while in Sunnydale and little showing of his magic, Harry had little hope of returning home.

Harry pulled a box of Pop Tarts out of the paper bag, popping them into the Toaster before taking one of the two chairs at his table and flipping open the Classifieds in the Sunnydale Daily Times. If he wanted to be able to stay here in Sunnydale, which he didn't know where else he could go...He didn't even know where he really was other than that he was in Sunnydale, California in the United States in the year 2001.

Harry continued to flip through the pages of the Classifieds, eyes finally landing on a rather promising looking ad.

The Magic Box-- Your One Stop Shop for All Your Occult Needs --

It said something about applying in person and an address that wasn't too far from where Harry lived. Harry smiled. Maybe a magic place would be right up his alley. If he worked there maybe he could learn about the magic of this new place and try to see what it did to his own.

Hermione had once told him while they were hunting Horcruxes that there were different kinds of magic, some which could cancel each other out. So maybe, Harry thought, he could be in one of those other kinds of magic that blocked his own. Well there was only one way to find out.

Hearing his Pop Tarts finish Harry stood and grabbed them, tossing the hot pastries onto a napkin and grabbing his windbreaker before dashing out the front door with a Pop Tart in his mouth and locking the door behind him, bidding good day to old Mrs. McGyver who was out walking her Pomeranian. For reasons unknown, Mr. Custard seemed to extremely dislike Harry.

Not twenty minutes later Harry finally found The Magic Box, seeing the Open sign in front.

Harry smiled, walking inside to the inviting smell of incense and old books.

A fond smile lit his face. Hermione would have loved this place.

All around the place felt warm and welcoming, full of the light tingle of magic and the unknown.

Harry looked around for a moment, noticing that the place was nearly empty except for an extremely bored-looking blonde woman at the front counter.

She looked up and forced a smile on her pretty face, brushing some of her blonde hair out of her face. "Hello! How may I take your money today?" Her nametag read "Anya".

Harry blinked, slightly confused at her odd wording but shook it off. Some people were just wierd. "Um...Hi. My name's Harry. I saw the ad in the paper--"

"Oh! Great! I didn't expect anyone to apply quite yet." She grinned, clapping her hands excitedly. "So..." She tried to look professional as she straightened her back and Harry had to hold back a snicker. "What do you know about magic?"

"Um..." Harry was at a loss of what to say. He couldn't very well say all he knew about it. "Um, well, I guess it isn't something you take lightly and don't be stupid about."

Anya smiled. "I like that answer. You know what, I like you. You've got the job."

Harry blinked. "Just like that?"

Anya nodded. "Yep. Unless you have a problem with that? Am I missing anything?"

Harry shook his head, not understanding this lady but deciding to go with it. It might just be safer to do what he did with Hermione and Ginny, just smile and nod. "Uh, no, that's fine. Just...slightly confused. So, uh...what do I do?"

Anya slipped out from behind the counter, smoothing out her black peasant dress with the low-heel black strappy sandals that Harry was almost certain were painful. "You keep an eye on the customers and make sure they buy things so we can get their money. But if they want something from up there--" she pointed up a ladder that held what looked to be old books and bottles. "Ask me. Try and memorize as much as you can so you know what everything is." She smiled and bustled around like a black and blonde little force of nature in heels, fixing things up.

Harry blinked, glancing at a picture behind the counter.

The simple wood frame held a picture of another blonde girl, laughing with a dark-haired man and a red-headed woman.

He turned to Anya, curious. "Hey Miss Anya, who's in the picture?" He asked, pointing it out.

Anya turned slowly, seeing the picture. "Oh. Um, that's Xander, my husband. And the redhead is Willow. She's an old friend of Xander's. And the blonde...." She seemed to falter for a moment and sadness filled her eyes. "Um...that's Buffy." She didn't offer any other explanation as she turned back to a group of books she was dusting.

Harry took that as his cue to shut up and wandered through the store, looking at the labels on everything and trying to not believe half of what he was seeing. This place was like an apothecary and a bookstore all mixed into one. There were what appeared to be eye of newt, dragon's liver and salamander tails, all of which were commonly used in potions. Lacewing flies, monkshood and wolfsbane. Harry smiled, finally starting to feel in his element. He could do this. Yes, he could do this....he hoped.

"Oh, employee-type person." Anya turned to face Harry, who was randomly picking up books at random and looking at their titles, trying to find one he recognized from all of the ones he'd seen at Hogwarts and in the House of Black. "Don't break anything or else you have to pay for it."

Harry nodded, putting a book back on the shelf.

The bell above the door jingled and Anya clapped lightly. "Ooh, customers!" She ushered off to help the customers, leaving Harry to wander.

He may be able to do this...if his crazy boss didn't kill him first...

Alright guys. There goes the first chapter.

The offer is still standing for a beta, as I do not have one.

Thank you so much to those of you who reviewed and gave me advice, as this is my first-ever Buffy-related story.


	3. Chapter 3

Scooby-Doos, What the Hell?

Hey guys! Welcome to the third chapter of Burning Wax Roses.

Chapter Two: Scooby-Doo, What the Hell?

Harry had never really had a job before in his life, but he was glad that he was working at the Magic Box. It was usually a rather busy place full of people buying their things, most of it just so they could say they did own it and not use it (he hoped, some of the crap those guys bought was dangerous and he didn't want to be there when it all went wrong) and chatting with anyone who seemed to know what they were doing.

Harry spent his free time looking over the books the store had in stock when it came to potions. He knew they didn't have very many, but he did remember a hand-written notebook that Hermione had written full of spells and potions they had used during their search for the Horcruxes.

Harry smiled, realizing how helpful the potions from his home could be here. Sure some of them no one would be able to use, but maybe...well, Anya said that she and her group of friends normally wound up in trouble so maybe some of the potions would come in handy to just have around if not to sell some of the more common ones.

The next day Harry came in carrying a cardboard box labeled "Caution" on all four sides. Harry smiled at Anya, nodding to her as he set down the box on the counter. "Hey Miss Anya, I brought in some things for us to sell."

Anya looked up, obviously intrigued and came to the other side of the box on the other side of the counter, trying to look into the box.

Harry opened up the box and slowly began taking out the bottles. He'd bought the little glass bottles from a glass-blower down the street who sold them to him for a bought-by-bulk discount so they'd been relatively cheap. Some of them were rather common-looking, clear glass with a cork stopper but others were a bit more intricate, depending on what they held.

As Harry unloaded the bottles, trying to be as careful as possible, the bell above the door rang, signaling the entrance of customers.

Anya grinned at the customers and then her grin widened, seeing three people coming in. "Xander!" she ran out from behind the counter and gave the tall, dark-haired man a hug.

Harry turned slightly, glancing at the group behind him.

The dark-haired man known as Xander had a lopsided and very friendly smile, one that made you either want to hug him or be his best friend just by looking at him. Harry gave a soft smile of his own, seeing the obvious affection they showed for each other.

Next to Xander was the redhead that he'd seen in the picture, Willow. Her red hair was up in a twist with chopsticks keeping them together, looking rather spiky and wild in her soft and friendly face. She looked like she spent either half her time scared or perpetually happy. Beside her was a girl with dirty-blonde hair, smiling fondly at Willow with warm eyes.

Unfortunately for Harry, his movements of taking out the bottles 'clinked', bringing their attention to him. Harry looked suitably sheepish when their attention turned to him.

"Um...hi." He said nervously, running a hand through his hair, ruffling it even more than it already was.

Anya grinned. "Oh yeah! Xander, Willow, Tara, this is Harry, my employee."

Xander glanced at Anya then at Harry and Harry had the distinct feeling he was being sized up. Then the brunette grinned. "Well hell, Ahn, wish you told me you like 'em that young."

It took Harry a moment to realize what the man was insinuating and then the poor wizard turned a rather enchanting shade of red and he stuttered. "N-No! I mean...not that Miss Anya isn't pretty, she's just...I mean...Oh merlin..." He said as he realized he was being made fun of.

Xander laughed, although it didn't quite meet his eyes. "Ah I'm just messing with you big guy." He reached over and ruffled his hair again. "Well I'm the Xan-man, nice ta meetcha." Xander shook his hand and Harry nodded.

"Likewise."

Tara's eyes were on the bottles and she headed over, randomly picking them up and putting them back down. "What are these?" She asked, eyes inquisitive.

Harry blinked, heading over to the many bottles he'd managed to get together. "Um, potions, actually." He said, slowly unloading them. Some of the potions were left over from the war, as he'd only managed to make two different potions the night before. They were rather quick to make, thankfully as they were usually the most-needed. Pepper-Up Potions and their ilk.

Willow came over, looking at the bottles too. "Potions? I've never seen ones like this before."

Harry looked at her and then realized what it was that he felt around them, the feel of electricity. "Oh you're witches!" Harry smiled, "Oh thank Merlin, I didn't think I'd find any real witches here."

Tara looked up at him. "You're a witch too?"

Harry blinked, "Um...last time I checked, no. At least I hope I'm still male."

Xander laughed, wrapping an arm around Anya's shoulders. "C'mon Witchy Ladies, don't make the guy insecure in his masculinity." Xander then blinked. "Whoa wait, you're a witch? Dude...Never met a guy witch before."

Harry sighed. "I'm not a witch, I'm a wizard. There's a certain genetic difference." He sighed, shaking his head. He took the little plaques they held in the back, writing out what the potions were and what they were worth before slowly putting them up on one of the racks. Anya normally put random stuff up so he didn't think it would be too bad for him to put stuff up too.

Tara watched him. "Pepper-Up Potions? Wart Be Gone?" She blinked, staring at the three different potions up on the shelves. "And...Dreamless Sleep?"

Harry glanced at her. "Oh, just three potions I thought would be a hit. They're pretty easy to brew so I didn't think it would hurt."

Willow continued looking over the bottles he'd left on the counter, some of the rather larger bottles. "Skele-Gro, Fever Reducer, and Blood Repleneshing Potion?"

Harry turned to Willow, feeling like he was getting pulled in a few directions between these two girls. "Um. Yeah, those are kind of a few months old but I thought having them would be good. Their shelf life is rather long."

Tara smiled at him, obviously trusting the dark-haired young man. "What do they all do? Or are they all kind-of s-se-self-explanatory?"

Harry smiled back at Tara, starting to feel at ease with the blonde witch. "Rather self-explanatory. Pepper Ups are used for when you don't feel good, they pep you up, pardon the pun." That got him a laugh thankfully from the two witches. "Wart be gone, well...again self-explanatory. It also works wonders on boils and acne. Dreamless Sleep is rather addictive so I have to put up a warning for that one. Pepper-Ups cause steam to come out of your ears, actually. Skele-gro grows back broken or lost bones. The other two are really self-explanatory."

Willow grinned. "Where'd you find this stuff? This is great! I've never heard of all of this."

As the three wandered the store, talking about this and that, the bell above the door rang again and a pretty-looking young girl with long brown hair came in, a backpack over her shoulder.

Xander grinned, getting up from the table where he'd been reading a comic book and drinking coffee. "Hey Dawnster!" He stood up and wrapped her in a big bear hug. "Glad ya got here on your own, squirt." He said, ruffling her hair.

Willow smiled, hugging the younger girl. "Hey Dawnie."

Tara did the same, but using only one hand as her other one was still rather broken.

Dawn glanced at Harry, who was up on a ladder putting some of the larger bottles up on a higher shelf. "Who's that?"

Willow grinned. "Oh, that's Anya's new employee. His name's Harry and he's British." She laughed. "His accent's actually really cute. And he's a wizard."

Dawn blinked. "A wizard? So he's a...male witch?" Dawn's eyes never left Harry as he climbed down, smoothing out the back of his black button-up shirt before he turned around, almost running into the young girl.

"Oh bugger. Sorry, ma'am."

Willow came over to Harry, apparently he'd been taken into the fold rather easily for an outsider. "Harry, this is Dawn, one of our friends."

Harry smiled at her, making poor Dawn slowly melt in her shoes. "Nice to meet you, Dawn. I'm Harry." He shook her hand, not really knowing what else to do. Everyone else had hugged her but he didn't think he should. He wasn't much of a hugger.

Dawn nodded, watching him. He was definitely attractive, albeit shorter than Xander with scruffier hair but the glasses gave him such a...cute look. You wanted to hug him and protect him from the world. But she got a feel off of him...like with Buffy. He felt like Buffy...

Over the next couple of days Harry noticed that Dawn seemed to gravitate towards him, helping him stock stuff and clean the shop.

Harry always stayed late in the shop, not like he really had anything else to do.

But after his first real week of working at the Magic Box, he was definitely surprised.

"Hey munchkin!" Yelled Xander into the shop, grabbing the British boy and hauling him over his shoulder, twirling them both around.

Harry yelped in an undignified tone, trying to stay still and remain on the shoulders that were currently digging into his gut. "Ack! Xander! Put me down!"

Xander laughed, a bit more genuinely than normal as he finally managed to put the shorter man down. "Hey we're all heading over to my place tonight to watch bad horror movies and gourge on popcorn. You in?"

Harry blinked, surprised. "You...want me to hang out with you?"

Xander lost his grin. "Nah, we're just messing with ya. Of course we want you to hang with us, guy! I mean c'mon! You're practically one of the gang now..."

Harry smiled, feeling touched. "S-Sure, I guess that'd be good. I have to close up, then I'll be on over, alright? Miss Anya already left."

"Hey man, you know you can just call her Anya, right?" Xander stage-whispered, almost as if sharing a secret.

Harry laughed, "I know. But I feel better calling my employer by an honorific...even if she is a bit..." Harry trailed off.

"Yeah, Ahn's a bit wierd, but she's great." He grinned, obviously smitten. "Of course, half the time she talks, do this--" Xander took both of Harry's hands and placed them over his ears, going "La la la la la la la."

Harry blinked, confused. "Huh? But why--"

"She says things inappropriate for young ears."

Harry glared. "Hey! I'm seventeen!"

"And I'm twenty, your point?"

Harry rolled his eyes and grabbed Xander by the shoulders, pushing him towards the door. "I have to close up, get going, Harris!"

Xander laughed, "Alright, alright, I'm gone, I'm gone. See ya in a few!"

Harry shook his head when Xander left, still feeling humoured by the man's jokes. He always knew just what to do to lighten a mood up.

Harry set to closing up shop, verifying the drawer and putting their daily earning in the safe under the counter, locking everything up. Harry picked up his backpack and walked out the front door, turning off all the lights and locking up the front door. He hummed softly under his breath, walking to the bus stop to catch a bus to Xander's apartment.

The night was very dark that night, overcast skies keeping the stars out of sight.

Harry took a seat on the bench, humming still a nameless tune he couldn't remember.

After a few minutes of waiting Harry heard movement but didn't think anything of it.

A shadow darkened his form and he looked up, seeing the man behind him.

"You waiting for the bus too?" Harry asked, bored out of his mind. The buses in Sunnydale took forever.

He didn't say a word, his dark crew cut hair messy and his clothes dated.

Harry shrugged, turning back to the street.

The man took the seat beside him, watching him.

Harry fidgeted for a few minutes, feeling uncomfortable with the man beside him.

He stood, starting to walk away.

After a few moments of strained hearing, Harry heard the sounds of footsteps.

The man was following him.

Harry picked up his pace a bit, trying to lose the man until his pace was a full-out run, dodging into a graveyard to lose him between the headstones.

Suddenly the man grabbed his backpack, sending Harry vaulting backwards into a gravestone near the newer area of the yard and Harry yelped, feeling the man grab his shoulders and keep his arms down as Harry began to yell.

"Get off of me! Let go!" Harry yelled, trying to squirm away. He didn't know what this man wanted but he had a feeling it wasn't good.

Then he chanced to open his eyes and saw the deformed face and the large fangs with glowing yellow eyes and Harry was silent, staring at the man in front of him.

A vampire...oh crap what was a spell for a vampire? Bugger bugger bugger....

Harry ran through his thoughts, feeling it when the man grabbed a handful of his hair and pulled his head to the side roughly, about to take a bite out of his throat.

Suddenly there was something protruding from the vampire's chest and Harry was frozen in shock, seeing the man suddenly explode into dust. Harry coughed, trying to clear his lungs as he looked up at the new shape that had appeared between the gravestones.

He blinked, staring at the leather-jacketed girl wearing a pink shirt with curly blonde hair and black jeans. "Wh-What?"

She smiled brightly, dropping the arm carrying what looked like a crossbow. "Hi! I'm Buffy!"

Harry stood up, recalling the name being spoken by the others. But what was she doing in a graveyard? "Um...hi." Harry turned to start walking away, not really sure what else to do. "Um, thanks for the, uh, save." Harry blinked, seeing the gravestone he'd slammed into.

Buffy Summers.

But...

"Um...ma'am, what did you say your name was?" He asked, seeing her creepy smile still in place.

"Buffy Summers!" She chirped, skipping off. "Have a nice night!"

In a daze, Harry walked back to the bus stop, getting on the bus when it arrived and getting off when he neared Xander's place. Harry knew he was in shock, knew he needed to sit down before his legs gave out.

A quick check of the doorknob told Harry it was open and he stepped inside, closing the door behind him to sudden exclamations of his name before he slumped back against the door, sliding down until he was sitting on the floor.

"Harry!" Willow exclaimed, heading over and kneeling beside him in her favorite blue sweater and blue jeans. "Harry, what's wrong?"

"....Buffy Summers is dead..." Harry said quietly, not really knowing what he was thinking or what had just happened. "But then why....I just saw Buffy Summers in the graveyard...what is going on?"

All of the Scoobies shared a look and Harry had the feeling that his 'long night' hadn't even really begun.

Well there's chapter three, peoples.

And a very special thanks to BrotherBludgeon for his very insightful and information-filled review. I would like to make one comment though: No, Xander and Anya are not married yet. Anya just says that because she can't remember the word 'fiancee'. Plus she thinks that if she tells everyone that they're married, then she won't have to worry about someone trying to steal Xander before they can really get married. And I loved the Amy idea, I'll really have to think about that.

There you have it, my friends. I hope you enjoyed this next chapter of Burning and I will have the next one up as soon as I can.

Blessed Be.


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